“Tructor” Still Turns Heads

“Tructor” Still Turns Heads TRACTORS Made-It-Myself One of the most eye-catching ideas ever featured in FARM SHOW was a “tructor” shown on the cover of FARM SHOW in 1978 Vol 2 No 1 Michael Radtke of Rib Lake Wis recently wrote to tell us about the tructor his 91-year-old grandfather Charles Matyka built nearly 40 years ago based on that original story “Once he saw it in FARM SHOW Grandpa decided he had to build one ” Radtke says “The milk truck driver checked on him every time he stopped The veterinarian couldn’t figure out how it was going to sit level with big tires on back and little ones on front And the machinist who made the driveshaft simply could not imagine what anybody would need such a short driveshaft for!” Matyka answered all their questions when he merged a 1958 Ford F-600 truck with a 1960 Massey Harris 44 tractor With a combination of 25 forward speeds and 5 in reverse and a pto with 5 speeds and reverse Matyka put about 12 000 miles on the trucktor doing all kinds of farm work He used it to spread manure pull hay wagons load silos and occasionally pull people out of ditches “It became quite famous in our area ” says Radtke Though it’s retired from farm work the proud grandson takes his grandfather’s tructor to local parades and events including the popular Edgar Steam Show Aug 26-28 in central Wisconsin Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Michael Radtke W4157 Trout Ave Rib Lake Wis 54470 ph 715 905-0320

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